December 2018 Superintendent Monthly Memo

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season. I know with all of the happiness during this time of the year it can also be a challenging time for students, staff and families. It is all the more important we take care of ourselves to be as present as possible for our students. Believe me I know that is easier said than done! While it is not easy it is critical to our success in any role, so try to remember to get your own oxygen mask on!

I look forward to being in classrooms this month to visit with students and staff please do reach out if there is something specific you would like me to visit for. Also these memos are intended to provide you with ongoing information about logistical on goings in the district each month. Please give me if there is additional information you are interested in that is not currently here.

Laurie

Budget Updates
The Preliminary Budget will be presented to the Finance Sub-Committee of the School Committee in December.

The Superintendent’s Budget will be officially presented to the full School Committee on January 10, 2019. After it is presented it becomes the School Committee’s budget until it is formally adopted in March of 2019. I will be attending a staff meeting in each school over the winter to go over the budget in detail.

Civil Rights Coordinators
Please note the districts Civil Rights Coordinators. These are the points of contact should you have a concern or need to file a claim in any of these areas. They can talk with you about the process.

District Calendar
Please note the 2019-20 calendar has been approved and is on the district website.

MSBA Update
The vote for the School Building Project will take place on Saturday April 6, 2019.
There will be community evenings to discuss the building project on the following dates:

• March 5th 5-6:30 at Wahconah followed by 7-8:30 at Windsor Town Hall (snow date March 19th)
• March 7th 5-6:30 at Kittredge followed by 7-8:30 at Becket (snow date March 21st)

Please contact Laurie Casna or Aaron Robb if you are interested in getting more involved!

Personnel Updates

• We are excited to welcome back Mrs. Danelle Dumas to a paraprofessional position at Wahconah. 
• We are excited to welcome Mrs. Kayla Higgins the new Grade 4 teacher at Craneville, replacing Brian Gilman. 
• We are excited to welcome Maria Thomas as a paraprofessional at Becket Washington.
• Mrs. Gretchen West will be officially starting on Monday December 3, 2018 as the Director of Student Services. Stephanie Case will work with her during her first few days for a smooth transition. Please give her a warm welcome!
• I have accepted the resignation of Mrs. Randee Goodrich, Kindergarten Paraprofessional at Craneville who will be retiring effective January 2, 2019. We are so grateful to Mrs. Goodrich for 25 years of service to the students of CBRSD.
• I have accepted the resignation of Mrs. Jill Johnson who has served as a paraprofessional in the district in multiple buildings for many years. We thank Jill for her service to our students. 
• I have accepted the resignation of Janine Sniezek, Wahconah paraprofessional we thank her for her service to our students!

Professional Advancement Opportunity
I have been in contact with Barbara Emanuel from the licensure program at MCLA. She is going to be in CBRSD to meet with any staff interested in obtaining licensure as a moderate special education teacher. She will be able to work with individuals based on their amount of schooling to date etc. to determine the quickest pathway to licensure. This is a great opportunity for paraprofessionals, tutors or other staff members in the district interested in obtaining a teaching license. It is also a good opportunity for teachers interested in getting a second license in special education. Before scheduling a time and date for Barbara to be here to meet with individuals interested I do want to make sure we have enough interest. If you are interested in participating in this meeting to take place in December please email me directly. You are also welcome to share this with others in the community who may be interested including substitutes.

Professional Development Updates
The next in district professional development date is Friday December 7th. Leslie will be sending out the schedule for all staff.

School Committee Updates
School Committee Members are elected for two year terms with half of the committee being up for re-election every November. During the recent School Committee Elections the following members stepped off of the committee and did not run for re-election; Mr. Peter Gazzillo (Dalton) and Mr. Mike Hopper (Dalton). We thank them for their many years of service to the CBRSD Schools.

Mr. Shawn Armacost (Hinsdale), Mr. Michael Hagmaier (Dalton) and Dr. Barbara Craft-Reiss (Becket) were re-elected to the committee.

New members were elected; Mr. Mike Hinkley (Dalton), Mr. Robert DiFazio (Dalton) and Mr. Todd Emerson (Cummington) we welcome these new members!

Weather Update
As the winter season begins I want to remind you of the procedures regarding cancelations or delays due to weather. The information below outlines the steps I will follow.

When deciding if to close school or call a delay I am in contact with the Road Superintendent’s from the seven towns beginning prior to 5am. In the case of extreme weather with a consistent forecast I do begin consulting the night before. If a decision is possible at that time one will be made. However please expect most decisions to be made the morning of so we can be sure we absolutely need to cancel school as June can be a long month! Additionally, I am in communication with the Superintendent of Schools from our neighboring districts and the bus company. Ultimately, I am responsible for making the final decision, but many people are consulted throughout the process. Please note for weather cancelations school is canceled for the district based on the road conditions in the seven towns given we have students traveling to the middle and high school from all seven towns. My decision is primarily based on input from our Road Superintendents who have the most accurate information about current road conditions.

Once a decision is made an email and phone call will be sent to everyone with a phone number or email address in our system. Additionally local TV and Radio stations are notified, the decision will be sent out on Twitter and posted to the website.

Please note in the event of a delay, the delay applies to non-administrative staff and school year employees. In the case of administrative staff and full year employees please use caution in getting in safely as close to the usual starting time as possible. If there is a safety issue that prevents someone from arriving on time even with the delay they should be in communication with their building administration.

If a cancelation takes place, the email and phone call sent to all staff will include if the administrative offices are closed. If that is not noted full year employees are expected to use caution in getting into work when able to do so safely. If that is not possible a vacation or personal day may be used, absent any additional contractual language. Communication regarding arrival times should be with the building administrators. Typically the administrative offices will only be closed if a state of emergency has been declared.

Please note given the snow day on Tuesday November 27th the last day of school is currently scheduled for Friday June 12, 2019.

Melissa Falkowski will send the procedure for custodial staff.

Frequently Asked Questions Answered:
I have not received any questions to date but will continue to check the link and respond if any are submitted.